Halloween Ends (2022)

Last year’s Halloween Kills needlessly extended the saga of Michael Myers beyond 2018’s Halloween. My only hope was that, somehow, its existence would be justified in what is promised to be the last entry in the series, Halloween Ends. Sadly, that is not the case.

Things start promisingly enough with the introduction of 21-year-old Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell.) The film’s opening scene is arguably the best part of the film.  In 2019, Corey encounters danger during a babysitting job he reluctantly accepts. It’s a suspenseful and cleverly scripted sequence. From there, the film jumps forward to present-day and immediately the bottom falls out.

We’re caught up on the status of Haddonfield, Illinois post-Halloween Kills via problematic expositional narration from Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and flashbacks. Laurie’s trying to channel her energy into writing a book about her encounters with Michael Myers. She buys a house and her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) moves in with her. They’re trying to support each other after the death of Allyson’s parents at the hands of Myers.

Things take a turn when Corey meets Laurie in the parking lot of a convenience store. And, while I won’t spoil what happens, I will say that the risky but creatively interesting turn the story makes is a gamble. I’ll give David Gordon Green and his co-writers credit for trying to mix things up and deviate from the usual slasher movie formula. However, for a franchise as established as the Halloween series, that gamble better pay off.  It doesn’t even come close.

The dialogue is some of the worst I’ve heard in recent memory. The characters are built from tropey 80s slasher movie templates. Even though this is a series that features a possibly supernatural killer, there are scenarios that don’t make a lick of sense. While Halloween Kills felt like it was just stalling for the ultimate showdown between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode, Halloween Ends ends up not knowing what to do with itself. It’s confused, muddled, boring, and, worst of all, Michael Myers is barely in it. And, no, it’s not scary. Not even a little.

It’s hard to get into specifics without spoiling the film for those that want to see it and make up their own minds. As all of the previous entries have been, Halloween Ends is immune to criticism when it comes to the hardcore fans of the series. They’ll eat up any slop that has Michael Myers’ trademark mask attached to it. So, here’s another serving.